Your Advice Required

[skir67]

I will soon be moving to a NTL franchised area and my wife and I are considering using their TV, Broadband and telephone services. This is partly because the current owners use NTL so the cabling and everthing is already there and because we currently use Telewest for all our services (and are sorry that we can't use them where we're moving to).

I know NTL's customer service is awful and that their support line have extremely long waits on them this does worry me somewhat what are your experiences?

Currently I have blueyonder for my internet connection and I've always been happy with it. I've never had to ring their support (mainly because I used to work for them so I know how it works). I know NTL will give you broadband either through an STB or through a dedicated cable modem. Because of what I currently have I prefer the idea of a seperate cable modem unit. However your ideas on this would be appreciated.

We are moving to Birkenhead on the Wirral so any comments from users in this area on reliability, speeds etc would be useful.

Also from point of order to installation how long do they tend to take on average?

Any other useful info you have would be appreciated too. Apologies in advance if I have posted this in the wrong discussion group.

Originally Posted by skir67

I know NTL's customer service is awful and that their support line have extremely long waits on them this does worry me somewhat what are your experiences?

That's a bit of a sweeping statement and certainly not 100% true. They *can* be long, but not always - see my experience just the other day.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by skir67

I know NTL's customer service is awful and that their support line have extremely long waits on them this does worry me somewhat what are your experiences?

This is not true every company has times when the lines are busy and you have to wait a while. Cust service is not awful it just depends who you speak to.

[etccarmageddon]

I recommend NTL for broadband but I prefer SKY for a TV service (for better program guide and the sky + service) and BT for phone line (for caller display).

NTL broadband has been mostly reliable for me.

[skir67]

Thanks for the info so far. The impression I have of NTL's customer service stems from the time I worked at Telewest (over 2 years ago now).

Would you say they have been improving on this front over the last couple of years?

[Marge]

Originally Posted by skir67

Thanks for the info so far. The impression I have of NTL's customer service stems from the time I worked at Telewest (over 2 years ago now).

Would you say they have been improving on this front over the last couple of years?

We're not all bad

[paulyoung666]

hi and to the site skir67 , my preferred choice is sky and ntl for the bb/phone , never had any major problems with either

[seaneeboy]

I've been an NTL cutomer for four years in Leeds, and the cutomer services and waiting times have improved dramatically in the last two years - I used to regularly wait an hour and a half to be answered, now I never have to wait more than 15 minutes.

[slug]

Originally Posted by seaneeboy

I've been an NTL cutomer for four years in Leeds, and the cutomer services and waiting times have improved dramatically in the last two years - I used to regularly wait an hour and a half to be answered, now I never have to wait more than 15 minutes.

Don't you think 15 minutes is too long?

[Derek]

I would say it is and the call Q's in the centre I work in are very, very rarely that length.

Compared to other companies I have had to call in the last few months (O2, Scottish Power, T-Mobile, Halifax and a few others) it seems about normal for peak times.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by slug

Don't you think 15 minutes is too long?

personally no

[danielf]

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

personally no

It is if they then give you another number to dial, and you only realise it is the number you've dialled after you put the phone down . So, back for a second 15 min wait (that's when you're lucky and don't get the busy tone), only to be transferred to another department that has a 20 minute wait. Happened to me this morning

But, to be constructive, I had tele, bb and phone from NTL, and was quite happy with it. But then again, I'm not big on interactive, provided I get multi-screen at the european/world cup/wimbledon etc. Can't fault the BB...

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by danielf

It is if they then give you another number to dial, and you only realise it is the number you've dialled after you put the phone down . So, back for a second 15 min wait (that's when you're lucky and don't get the busy tone), only to be transferred to another department that has a 20 minute wait. Happened to me this morning

But, to be constructive, I had tele, bb and phone from NTL, and was quite happy with it. But then again, I'm not big on interactive, provided I get multi-screen at the european/world cup/wimbledon etc. Can't fault the BB...

ok so it costs you your time , but dont forget the call is free

[Tezcatlipoca]

Originally Posted by slug

Don't you think 15 minutes is too long?

It is long, but I've had much longer waiting times (& worse CS) from other companies.... [O2..... ]

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

ok so it costs you your time , but dont forget the call is free

True, I phoned Time Computers (Computerworld, or whatever they are now) on behalf of a friend. I was kept waiting for 15 minutes at the cost of £1 per minute..

I was not happy, particularly as I knew the computer was knackered (his hard drive was dead) and all I wanted was instructions for getting it repaired under warranty.